In Culture & People, curate, Customer, Digital, Distribution, Europe, Featured, HSMAI, HSMAI, Marketing, News, News items, Revenue, Revenue Management, Sales, Talent

Winners of the hotly anticipated HSMAI Awards Europe 2022 revealed at the annual European ROC and Award dinner

The region’s leading hospitality companies, brands and professionals recognised for their stand-out industry contributions in nine awards categories

London, UK – January 23rd, 2023: The winners of one of the hospitality sector’s most hotly anticipated events of the year, the HSMAI Awards Europe 2022, have been revealed.

The region’s leading hospitality companies, brands and professionals were recognised for their stand-out contributions to the industry in nine categories at an awards ceremony and dinner staged at the InterContinental Park Lane, London, on Thursday (January 19).

The event rounded off ROC 2023, the annual commercial conference staged by HSMAI Europe, the European arm of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable revenue growth globally.

Of the nine awards presented to acknowledge the great work of people and companies in 2022, four were accolades recognising Best-in-Class companies or brands and five were Individual Achievement Awards, reflecting HSMAI’s focus on a key issue impacting the industry today – attracting and retaining talent.

The winners of the Best-in-Class awards were The Club by Radisson Hotel Group, scooping Revenue Management Team of the Year; CitizenM, awarded Best Use of Brand; Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, picking up the HSMAI Europe Sustainable Award; and Aimbridge Hospitality, acknowledged for Best Use of Employer Brand.

In the Individual Achievement Awards, the coveted Young Hotelier of the Year was presented to Philip Steiner, General Manager at Moxy & Residence Inn Slough hotels, while the highly regarded Fabian Specht Revenue Optimization Professional of the Year was handed over to Raimund Notz, Director of Hotel Revenue Optimization, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

Other professionals recognised for their hard work included Julie Martel, Key Account Director – Entertainment, IHG Hotels & Resorts, who was crowned Sales Talent of the Year; Robin Noten, Senior Cluster Marketing Manager, Cycas Hospitality, who was awarded Marketing Professional of the Year; and Sheena Sivagnanam, Senior Key Account Manager, IHG Hotels & Resorts, who took home Sales Professional of the Year.

In addition to receiving their awards and well-deserved recognition, winners of the Individual Achievement Awards won complimentary attendance at the HSMAI Europe Commercial Summer Camp 2023, including accommodation and travel.

“The HSMAI Awards Europe programme showcases and recognises the outstanding work and talent of the people and companies that drive innovation and excellence in the region’s hospitality sector, and this year is no exception, with leaders of today and tomorrow receiving well-deserved accolades that not only acknowledge commercial acumen, but some of today’s most pressing industry issues, from sustainability to attracting and retaining talent,” said Ingunn Hofseth, President & CEO, HSMAI Region Europe.

“With every category hard fought and hotly contested, I would like to congratulate all of the winners and the runners-up for their achievements, which inspire us all to strive for the exceptional.”

The HSMAI Awards Europe 2022

The Revenue Management Team of the Year Award attracted a high number of strong applications from all over Europe, indicating the growing strength of the revenue management community. Winner, The Club by Radisson Hotel Group, was recognised for improving several elements of its revenue management function to maximise performance – technology, process improvement, breaking down internal silos, movement towards Total Revenue Management, and underlying it all, people development.

Best Use of Brand was awarded to CitizenM for pointing to the future by focusing on the essentials that modern travellers appreciate, stripping away everything else and adding a bold, confident and cheeky personality. The brand is consistently fresh across all touchpoints in the customer experience – physical spaces, people, services, innovations and communications.

The HSMAI Europe Sustainability Award recognised how Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers had integrated sustainable solutions from the start, including a solar park generating 10% of its energy requirements, with the rest derived from renewable energy sources from national suppliers, plus groundwater heating and cooling, intelligent light control, an indoor forest, recycled concrete floors and window frames, felt ceilings from recycled plastic tableware, and pathways from recycled rubber tyres and tubes.

Best Use of Employer Brand celebrated how Aimbridge Hospitality tackled skilled labour challenges by creating a new employer branding perspective and broadening its talent pool beyond hospitality. Through its brand efforts, improving the hiring process and revisiting the ‘employee value proposition’, Aimbridge has increased the number of applicants per vacancy and reduced the time-to-hire significantly.

Young Hotelier of the Year 2021, Philip Steiner, General Manager at Moxy & Residence Inn Slough hotels, was not only recognised for his business performance, but his role as an innovator, coach and leader. He is the youngest GM in his company, inspires his colleagues, key stakeholders and local community, and is described as “someone we can rely upon to carry the torch of our beautiful industry in the coming years”.

The Fabian Specht Revenue Optimization Professional of the Year was presented to Raimund Notz, Director of Hotel Revenue Optimization, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, because he not only excels at optimising revenues, managing distribution channels, and generating profits in a complex and international ecosystem, but is a leader, a coach and a great communicator.

Sales Talent of the Year, Julie Martel, Key Account Director – Entertainment, IHG Hotels & Resorts, was not only recognised for her operational excellence, but her broad knowledge of sales across multiple segments including MICE & Event. Her versatility, resilience, and role in supporting colleagues as part of a crisis team, are applause-worthy.

Marketing Professional of the Year, Robin Noten, Senior Cluster Marketing Manager, Cycas Hospitality, had the challenging job of managing the marketing of 25 hotels with different brands across several European countries and locations. Achievements include two successful hotel launches – one in London using online and offline channels to engage the local community and the other, a dual-brand property in Paris.

Sales Professional of the Year, Sheena Sivagnanam, Senior Key Account Manager, IHG Hotels & Resorts, is described as “a loyal, dynamic, confident and enthusiastic sales leader, who manages to excel in all aspects of the role and scope of this award”. She not only outperforms personally, but shares in her success, fostering cross-functional teamwork, while leveraging brands and gaining market share through authentic public and private partnerships.

For full details on the winners and runners-up, click here.

For more information on the association visit HSMAI Europe

About HSMAI Europe

HSMAI – Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International – is a global organisation founded in the US in 1927. HSMAI Region Europe is the European arm of the organisation. HSMAI Europe aims to be a key influencer, pioneer and the go-to industry resource for professional development, commercial strategies and sustainability in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. www.hsmai.eu

Contact Us

Send us an email for any queries you have about HSMAI Europe and we'll get back to you, asap.

Not readable? Change text. captcha txt
0

Start typing and press Enter to search